French Foreign Legion

[Gardian]

Meant to post this at the weekend, but never got round to it.

It seems that at a place called Camerone in Mexico on 30th April 1863, 60 or so Legionnaires held out against 2000+ Mexican soldiers. (No idea what they were doing there, or what the quarrel was about - the piece in the local paper didn't say).  When there were just 5 left standing, out of ammunition, and refusing to surrender, the Mexican officer gave them safe passage, together with their wounded.

The date is an important one for the FFL and it was interesting to read that some 35,000 legionnaires have given their lives in the last 176 years - "Ces etrangers - devenus fils de France non par le sang recu, mais par le sang verse".

Anyway, there was an open day cum commemoration at one of the local bases this last weekend.  Apart from the seriousness and respect for the memory of the date, I couldn't help but chuckle at two (very French) mentions of the festivites in the local 'rag':

• restauration variee - brochettes, paella, tartiflette, poulet frites, gastronomie asiatique - attendees march on their stomachs!
• 20.30 - election de Miss Kepi Blanc - I trust that the candidates were wearing more than that!  Wish I'd gone. 

[Tag]

Ah, these mercenaries dying for France!

[Gunner]

When my hubbie was 18, he and his mate decided they wanted to join the Foreign Legion, so they took took a day off work, got the ferry to calais, then a train to Paris. Managed to find the recruitment office, but guess what... when they got there it was closed for lunch .... so they left a note and got the next train/ferry back to England. I said to him, why didn't you wait until they reopened after lunch? He said, well we had to be back for work the next day!! They joined the TA instead and he left after a month as he thought it was too tough. To this day, I love recounting this story.

[Chris Head]

The 'Leggies' are good guys but their training methods are perhaps less than PC.....

[Frederick]

They never forget  old soldiers ........if one has fallen upon hard times...  even years after leaving... there is a place where all they have to to is turn up.... and report in ...They will be given a place to live ..medical needs attended to ...and efforts made to find them a job and get them back on their feet . compare that with  how we help the  " old soldiers " sleeping rough in London with drink problems ..

[jc]

You never hear anything about them but there is also a Spanish Foreign Legion who make the French look like a bunch of wimps.The FFL assault course in Guyana that is routinely completed in just over two hours took the US marines all day.